Coming from the Latin named plant Theobroma cacao, meaning “food of the gods,”
chocolate is both an indulgence and an apparent necessity for life.It is the number one food craved by woman and
falls only second to pizza for men.Americans consume more than twelve pounds of chocolate a year per person
and spend close to $8.9 billion dollars to satisfy their craving (http://www.medscicommunications.com/just_for_fun.htm

).In one study it was found that 50% of women
preferred chocolate to sex! Another study found that those self-proclaimed
“chocoholics” in fact live longer than their chocolate abstaining counterparts (http://www.chocolate.org).
Besides the obvious gratification it brings to the senses, chocolate has also
been discovered to have many major health benefits, seemingly making it the
perfect food.

).By helping rid the body of these
free-radicals, anti-oxidants help promote healthy living and lengthen the life
expectancy.Flavonoids,
and the subgroup Catechins, are the two main
anti-oxidants found in chocolate.These
are found in substantially higher rates in dark chocolate than green and black
teas (http://www.intemperantia.com/

healthbenefits.htm).These
anti-oxidants are found to increase the “good” levels of cholesterol, HDL, by
almost 10% while also making the “bad” cholesterol, LDL,less susceptible to oxidation.Oxidation is the process that typically leads
to creation of the artery-clogging plaques.Studies have found that people can eat chocolate in place of the
vitamins and other anti-oxidants they supplement their diet with and have the
same end result (http://www.cnn.com/2000/HEALTH/diet.fitness/02/02/chocolate.wmd).

Another bonus of chocolate is that
it contains stearic acid.Stearic acid is one
of the fats found in chocolate.When consumed,
the fat helps to boost the levels of HDL, the good cholesterol.In addition, scientists found that when
people ate milk chocolate, their levels of LDL, the bad cholesterol, did not
rise, as expected when an individual consumes a fat (http://www.cnn.com/2000/HEALTH/diet.fitness/02/02/chocolate.wmd).

In
addition to the anti-oxidants and stearic acid,
chocolate has exceptional nutritional qualities.It is a small volume, high energy food
containing carbohydrates, fats, and vegetable proteins as well as large amounts
of potassium and magnesium, some calcium and sodium, and vitamins A1, B1, B2,
D, and E (http://www.medscicommunications.com/just_for_fun.htm).

In addition to the latter, chocolate
contains trace, but effective, amounts of a number of other substances.One such substance is theobromine,
a central nervous system stimulant that facilitates muscular exertion as well
as acting as a diuretic and appetite stimulus.In addition, chocolate contains caffeine, which increases intellectual
activity and watchfulness while helping to resist fatigue.It also contains a chemical, phenylethylamine, which is similar to amphetamines, the
chemical humans release when they fall in love.Chocolate also contains and essential amino
acid, tryptophan, that increases the production of
serotonin.Serotonin is a natural
stress-reliever and anti-depressant. Other
substances that chocolate contain ared endorphins,
which are the same natural opiates that the brain releases, that elevate ones
mood and reduces pain.Chocolate
contains phenols as well.Phenols are
found in other foods like vegetables, tea, fruits, and red wine and help to
protect the heart from coronary diseases.Finally chocolate also contains Anandamine, a
substance that imitates the effects of marijuana by acting on the same brain
receptors, resulting in a mild high.This mild high is prolonged by two ingredients also found in chocolate
that inhibit the breakdown of Anandamine (http://www.medscicommunications.com/just_for_fun.htm).
With all the active substances found in chocolate,
it gives some basis to the claims of chocolate addiction and the “healing
powers” of chocolate for a broken heart or a bad mood.

Ask the
experts:

Anti-Oxidants

The substance with the most health
benefits found in chocolate is the anti-oxidants.A number of studies have been conducted
testing the hypothesis that there is an inverse relationship between tea
consumption and cardiovascular disease because of the flavanoids
naturally occurring in tea.Since it has
been found that dark chocolate has up to four times the amount of flavanoids than tea, Kris-Etherton
and colleagues ran an acute feeding study in order to measure the
cardiovascular benefits of the addition of flavanoid-rich
chocolate to a normal diet.Researchers
have found that chocolate can increase the anit-oxidant
capacity and slow the oxidation of LDL, the bad cholesterol. It may also induce
relaxation in endothelium functioning, which is the process opposite of the
hardening of the arteries and blood vessels that often times leads to
cardiovascular diseases.It has also
been found to increase the production of anti-inflammatory cytokines while
simultaneously reducing the production of inflammatory cytokines. Cytokines
work in conjunction with hormones and neurotransmitters in aiding with
communication between cells.In
addition, chocolate has been reported to increase the synthesis of antithrombotic lipid prostacyclin
while reducing the production of the proinflammatorycysteinylleukotrienes.Prostacycline is
found to aid in the treatment of primary pulmonary hypertension.Polyphenololigamers found in chocolate have been found to protect
against peroxynitrate-dependent oxidation and
nitration reactions.This aids in
preventing the blood vessels from hardening.Finally it was shown the consumption of chocolate can decrease the expressiong of the activated conformation of glycoproteins on epinephrine-activated platelets, again
helping to prevent that potentially fatal hardening of the arteries (Kris-Etherton and Keen 2002).

In another study by Rein and his
colleagues, they found that chocolate inhibits platlet
activation and function.Their research
focused on the polyphenols found in chocolate as well
as other foods that have anti-oxidant affects.These researchers found that chocolate had an aspirin like affect on hemostasis.In
addition, the consumption of chocolate suppressed epinephrine-stimulated
platelet activation and platelet microparticle
formation.Platelets play a major role
in coronary artery disease.Prior research
has found that a daily aspirin regiment and anti-oxidant supplements therapy
helps to keep the platelet levels low.Researchers found that after eating the chocolate, subjects had a
similar reaction as to the one provided by the aforementioned aspirin
therapy.Thus having some chocolate
daily can be used in place of the aspirin therapy with the same results (Rein,
et. al 2000).

Blood
Pressure

In a research letter to the Journal
of the American Medical Association, Dirk Taubert
discussed his findings of the relationship between chocolate consumption and
those individuals with untreated isolated systolic hypertension, or mile high
blood pressure.He found a favorable
affect in his subjects.He concluded
that since plant polyphenols are the main constituents
of cocoa, the main ingredient in dark chocolate, that the addition of chocolate
to a diet has significant effects in lowering blood pressure.Since chocolate is largely easy to find, in
small doses, it can be used to help lower blood pressure, though it is not a
replacement for medicines or recommended as a sole therapy for high blood
pressure (Taubert 2003)

Cholesterol

Wan and colleagues looked at the effects of chocolate on
LDL oxidative susceptibility and prostaglandin concentrations in humans.Knowing that flavanoids
have great anti-oxidant affects and knowing the large flavanoid
concentration in chocolate, Wan and researchers set out to measure the affects
of chocolate on LDL, the “bad” cholesterol that leads to cardiovascular
diseases.After conducting a carefully
crafted study, Wan found that cocoa powder and dark chocolate favorably affect
the risk for cardiovascular diseases.The chocolate does this by reducing LDL oxidation susceptibility,
increasing capacity for serum total antioxidant and HDL-cholesteral
concentrations, and not adversely affecting prostaglandins.Meaning, chocolate helps to reduce the bodies intake of bad cholesterol while helping with the
intake of good cholesterol without the adverse affects one would expect from
eating a fat-filled food (Wan, et. al 2001)

Psychological

Rogers and Smit
studied the claimed feel-good affects of chocolate and it’s
psychoactive constituents.The
researchers basically found that though these mood-altering compounds are found
in chocolate, they are not in any sort of concentration that would be required
to actually cause a psychoactive affect or an addiction.For example, there are relatively high
amounts of the central nervous system stimulant theobromine, however, it is
a relatively weak stimulant with weak subjective affects.The case with the caffeine found in chocolate
is the inverse.There is not a high
enough concentration of caffeine in chocolate to produce a significant source
of dietary caffeine.There are a number
of other pharmacologically significant substances found in chocolate, like phenylethylaminemtyramin,
serotonin, tryptophan, and magnesium, however these
are found in a number of other foods with out the same affects reported from
chocolate.Rogers and Smit go on to say that there is no biological basis for the
addiction and psychoactive features of chocolate.Instead these addictions are caused by
socialization and the forces of restraint and attribution (Rogers and Smit 1999).

Conclusion

The biological affects of chocolate and it’s health benefits in preventing cardiovascular disease
are abundant and clear.The
psychological affects, though with now biological basis, are still very real to
many.However, the research does not say
go out and eat as much chocolate as can be found.Instead, all research indicates that a small
bit of dark chocolate daily is all that is needed.Both milk chocolate and white chocolate do
not have the same health benefits as they have the lowest concentration of
cocoa, the active ingredient (http://my.webmd.com/content/article/73/81921.htm?lastselectedguid={5FE84E90-BC77-4056-A91C-9531713CA348}).